No. A creator god who is omnipotent and all powerful could not be good by our perspective. I mean seriously who stands around and does nothing while a child is raped and killed, simply for the sake of free will.

However, a god that is not those things neither omnipotent or all powerful, can be good. Especially if it does all that it can.

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Rlyeh 9,924

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Ehrman Pagels 1 637

Do you really think so? I do believe in some deity (or deities) but I do not believe a single word from the Bible, especially the loving God part.

I once believed in a deity. Thing is, if a deity were a real thing and manipulating my life's destiny, it would be my mortal enemy. I would find a way to dethrone it and make its "awareness" miserable, at all costs, especially since my spirit is an undying entity. Then again, a subjunctive is only an "if" sentence. In my experience, a deity usually equates to a demi-god, but I have my ear to the ground, always. I believe in a ONE, TRUE God(?), but it's not in this material plane of existence and totally oblivious of this world. This God(?) is in a completely different reality. I certainly cannot fault my God(?).

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Beckys_Mom 4,029

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CommunitarianKevin 442

I don't think god causes natural disasters. unfortunately abrahamic faiths have cornered the market on the perception of god. To bad. There are theists that do not accept abrahamic mythology.

I do not believe any of those were natural disasters. According to the texts, they were brought by God. You might be able to make a claim that a world wide flood is a natural disaster but Sodom and Gomorrah would be an even harder case. It might have been a volcano or something like that, but I think the meaning of the story is what is important and that is that God destroyed the cities because they were not welcoming of their neighbor...

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White Crane Feather 4,965

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I do not believe any of those were natural disasters. According to the texts, they were brought by God. You might be able to make a claim that a world wide flood is a natural disaster but Sodom and Gomorrah would be an even harder case. It might have been a volcano or something like that, but I think the meaning of the story is what is important and that is that God destroyed the cities because they were not welcoming of their neighbor...

Sure and winter comes because Persephone spent part of the year with hades and it makes her mother sad. It has nothing to do with seasons... Its a real story about a mothers love right?

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Beany 2,539

I do not believe any of those were natural disasters. According to the texts, they were brought by God. You might be able to make a claim that a world wide flood is a natural disaster but Sodom and Gomorrah would be an even harder case. It might have been a volcano or something like that, but I think the meaning of the story is what is important and that is that God destroyed the cities because they were not welcoming of their neighbor...

On the other hand, I don't believe any of them were God's work, not do I believe the story of Sodom & Gomorrah is a historical account. BTW, there was no world wide flood. The Chinese texts from that time that make no mention of a flood of any kind in China; at the time China had expanded borders which covered far more geography than it currently does.

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White Crane Feather 4,965

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libstaK 6,399

No, some gnostic sects view the creator or demiurge as a malevolent entity, even asserting this is the God of the Bible. They still usually believe in a good god however.

I'm not a christian and certainly not a biblical scholar.... but doesn't the bible even say that god is the creator of ALL things, seen and unseen. Why would he be only good then? It's impossible.

I don't think any god can be personified.

These two provide the closest insights into the problem of any man judging whether God is "Good" by our own standards.

As Purplos particularly points out "the creator of ALL things, seen and unseen. What we don't see could have a huge impact on the issue of balance between free will and fate. We are severely limited in our view of what is good by only seeing time in a linear fashion just to start.

Then there is the fact that our souls are eternal, what is "good" for our souls' evolution may not look so pretty in the material world - and in our limited 5 sense linear, myopic view (by comparison of all there is to know, seen and unseen) we cannot know enough to answer the question at all it seems.

CommunitarianKevin 442

When your world is flooded happened to my sister in 95, and quite a few Japanese last year.

If you read the Bible, they were not talking about a local flood. God did, in fact, flood the entire world and gave a reason for it, which I would argue makes him not good. I am not really understanding why you are fighting against me about this...It is as if you are trying to make an argument for why God is good...

Edited October 7, 2012 by HuttonEtAl

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CommunitarianKevin 442

On the other hand, I don't believe any of them were God's work, not do I believe the story of Sodom & Gomorrah is a historical account. BTW, there was no world wide flood. The Chinese texts from that time that make no mention of a flood of any kind in China; at the time China had expanded borders which covered far more geography than it currently does.

I know this...

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wanderer_ 5

You need to realize, God created all religions. Sure, he may not be called the same thing, but trust me, you can find strikingly similar elements in almost any religion. I think you might not like the idea of love in general, and you need to examine that further. Because it seems like it's not the bible you're mad at, but something else. Just examine your beliefs. If you don't change them, fine. But at least find a good reason for doing so, so you can actually defend your beliefs. Because right now all I hear is hate.

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CommunitarianKevin 442

You need to realize, God created all religions. Sure, he may not be called the same thing, but trust me, you can find strikingly similar elements in almost any religion. I think you might not like the idea of love in general, and you need to examine that further. Because it seems like it's not the bible you're mad at, but something else. Just examine your beliefs. If you don't change them, fine. But at least find a good reason for doing so, so you can actually defend your beliefs. Because right now all I hear is hate.

God created all religions because they are similar? It is interesting you look at the similarities and not the differences. Have you ever considered WHY they are religion? Have you ever looked into anthropology? Is it possible all religions are the same because of an experience with something other than God(s)? Is it possible they were aliens encounters that people assume were gods? Just some things to think about because your claim is pretty bold.

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Tutankhaten-pasheri 810

You need to realize, God created all religions. Sure, he may not be called the same thing, but trust me, you can find strikingly similar elements in almost any religion. I think you might not like the idea of love in general, and you need to examine that further. Because it seems like it's not the bible you're mad at, but something else. Just examine your beliefs. If you don't change them, fine. But at least find a good reason for doing so, so you can actually defend your beliefs. Because right now all I hear is hate.

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wanderer_ 5

You guys don't have to agree with me. I do firmly believe this, and yes I've explored other options.

There are differences in religions, of course. They are still each their own respective paths--but to the same ultimate reality of things. And to get to the ultimate truth of reality, you need to look at the similarities.

Before people even had concepts of aliens, there was religion. Think about that.

CommunitarianKevin 442

You guys don't have to agree with me. I do firmly believe this, and yes I've explored other options.

There are differences in religions, of course. They are still each their own respective paths--but to the same ultimate reality of things. And to get to the ultimate truth of reality, you need to look at the similarities.

Before people even had concepts of aliens, there was religion. Think about that.

But are there reason that are not supernatural that could account for the similarities?

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wanderer_ 5

But are there reason that are not supernatural that could account for the similarities?

I think supernatural is a word that people use to write off the very thing I'm talking about. Yes, if you look for things that will discredit what I'm saying, you will absolutely find them. If you look for anything, you'll find it if you try hard enough. I can see that no matter what I say, you're going to hold firm to your beliefs. What do you find so unappealing about believing? I encourage you to do some open-minded exploring, even if just to find out exactly why you believe what you do.